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          India Open diary: From icy temperatures to late starts and translation troubles

          Satwik-Chirag enjoyed plenty of crowd support at the India Open. BWF MEDIA
          • Zenia D'Cunha in New Delhi
          Jan 23, 2024, 03:52 PM

          Why were the marquee India matches so late in the biting cold? How did Satwiksairaj Rankireddy get distracted by the crowd? Did you know Indian fans call Tai Tzu Ying by the wrong name? How does one communicate with players when you share no common language?

          Snippets from the recently concluded India Open Super 750 in New Delhi.

          Late schedules

          What does it say when India's No. 1 player complains about the long, late schedule of matches twice in two days at the biggest badminton tournament hosted in India?

          The terrible scheduling of India matches was the main non-badminton talking point in this edition. For three straight days, marquee India matches involving HS Prannoy and Satwik-Chirag were held at times difficult for the fans to attend/enjoy: once overlapping on adjacent courts, twice at the fag end of the day, starting at 9.30 PM.

          All this in a very cold Delhi where nightly temperatures were in single digits. Making matters all the more difficult was that the stadium does not have indoor heating, and neither is it close to a Metro station. That there was a sizeable turnout despite these obstacles, many of whom stayed back till the end of the day, should be appreciated.

          The schedule is usually decided by the Badminton World Federation and there is a stipulation of having at least 10 matches on the main, TV court. But starting the quarterfinal days from noon, instead of earlier complicated things.

          The logic of putting Indians late on quarterfinal Friday would be to attract more fans after work hours. But it failed to consider that matches can go into three games and the 10th game after a noon start is closer to midnight. Indeed, a few fans left before Satwik and Chirag took the court at 10.20 PM on Friday.

          After his 77-minute marathon of a quarterfinal, Prannoy said "The schedule has been really long, we're standing at almost 9.30, that's very little time to go back and recover. I wish we had more time," he said. The next day, his semifinal started at 9.20 PM.

          The cold and wind chill were not any easier for the foreign players, with their breaths fogging up when they spoke to the media after night matches even as they were covered with sweat. The Indian sports fan is not usually on top of the priority list when it comes to tournaments, but this time players seemed to bear the brunt of it too.

          A cricket-like atmosphere

          When the India Open was upgraded to a Super 750 event last year, which meant that all top players were mandated to attend, the Indian interest ended in the second round. This time, there were Indian players in action on all days, which meant that the crowd always had someone to cheer.

          And cheer they did, creating a raucous atmosphere inside the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall. The two all-India matches in the singles (Priyanshu Rajawat vs Lakshya Sen and then Priyanshu vs Prannoy) and Satwik and Chirag's final run saw a tremendous atmosphere inside. The highlights were the creative chants they came up with, similar to the classic ones heard at cricket stadiums all over India.

          "Laal phool, peela phool, [insert player name] bhaiyya beautiful"

          "Do rupee ki pepsi, [insert player name] sexy"

          Satwik and Chirag, who love feeding into the crowd energy, had a good laugh about the chants but also said that they got distracted (and a bit annoyed, which was quickly retracted) especially when they were serving. They may not have won the final, but their semifinal win gave the crowd an opportunity to see their trademark gig and Chirag-jumping on Satwik celebration.

          Support for non-India players

          A very heartening aspect was the great support international players received in Delhi. Tai Tzu Ying, who went on to win the title, was a crowd favourite from her first match. Some fans had come from all over India for her and her face and name adorned a bunch of posters.

          One particular poster said the fan had travelled 800 kilometers to watch her play, and they got a treat as the Chinese Taipei player, who was coming to India after eight years to play, put up quite the show in her five matches.

          She has said that 2024 will be her final season as a player and if she sticks to her retirement plans, at least her diehard Indians fans will be satisfied knowing they got to watch her live.

          P.S. Thanking the fans for their support after her title, she joked about how she feels like she has a new nickname in India - 'Tai Tzu'. Her name is Tzu Ying while Tai is her surname like with many Southeast Asian cultures, but Indian fans call her Tai Tzu which was strange to her at first, but she has learnt to like it.

          Men's singles champion Shi Yu Qi too enjoyed great crowd support in his final, despite beating India's Prannoy the day before. After his win, he made a full 90-degree bow to the crowd and threw his racquet into the stands.

          Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia was another crowd puller, and he did an autograph session after his quarterfinal loss with a packed hall.

          Lost in translation...or is it?

          The most important person at a badminton tournament is often the translator, as this writer experienced.

          With several top players from China, Japan and South Korea being unable to communicate in English, the media interactions post-match got challenging. There were translators on ground, but there wasn't often a gap between the question asked and the answer received. Everyone tried their best, but accents and dialects often made the mixed zone a Babel-esque scene.

          On the final day, singles champions Tai and Shi had someone from their staff translate for them and the difference in the length of answers from earlier was stark.

          Amid this was the curious case of Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The reigning world champion used a Thai translator when interacting with the Indian media initially. But after his second-round loss, it turned out he is fluent enough in English to hold a whole conversation.